Scope and Contents of the Materials

These papers are a collection from several sources. Part of them were given to the ETRC by the Old Stone Fort, others were found among the Nacogdoches County Court House Records, and the rest were already a part of the East Texas Research Center's vertical file collection. They have been combined so that they will be in a more useable and convenient form.

Collection Historical Note

Haden Edwards, pioneer settler and land speculator, was born in Stafford County, Virginia, on August 12, 1771. In 1820 he married Susanna Beall of Maryland, and they eventually had thirteen children together. They moved to the area of Jackson, Mississippi, where he and his brother Benjamin W. Edwards acquired a plantation.

In 1823 Edwards traveled to Mexico City, where he joined Stephen F. Austin in a three-year attempt to persuade various Mexican governments to authorize American settlement in Texas. Their efforts resulted in the colonization law of 1824 in Mexico City and of 1825 in Saltillo, which allowed impresarios to introduce settlers to Texas.

After a series of reversals and frustrations, Edwards and his brother supported, and eventually headed the events known as the Fredonian Rebellion. Before an armed clash occurred the Fredonians dispersed, in early February 1827, and Edwards fled to Louisiana for safety. He returned to Texas during the Texas Revolution and made his home in Nacogdoches until his death, on August 14, 1849. Edwards is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Nacogdoches, Texas.